Thomas County cat., 1887-01-20

was nowhere to be found. His object
in re:u,ining aboard up to that hour
was to drug our coffee and note what
preparations we were making. When
be got ready to 60 he probably swan
to the shore with his news. but he could
have reported little more than the fact
that he had drugged our coffee. which
all who were awake at midnight would
probably make use of. When the men
had received their orders we paid our
attention to the junk. and one OF the
guns was quietly rolled across the deck
and trained upon her. Whel- the night
glass was directed to the shore We
could make out that many OF the
natives were moving about and evil
IDENTIFY getting ready for some expedi-
ton. There was no question now but
what we were to be attacked. We had
good pressure of steam. plenty OF hot
water, and the hose was attached and
a man assigned to take charge of it.
1t was an hour and half after mid
night before there was any decided
move ON the part of the enemy. The
captain of the junk could not have had
night glass. and perhaps he reasoned
that we were as badly of. He kept
paying out his cable foot by foot until
he was so close on us that could have
tossed Il biscuit aboard of him. Owing
to the set of the tide or to some cross
current, he dropped down to us stern
first. while we lay broadside to the
beach. The stern of the junk was
pointed amidships of the steamer, and
our gun would rake his whole deck at
every discharge. At one o'clock two
men left her in a small boat and went
ashore, and then forty or fifty armed
men came out of the hold and took
their stations on deck. A few had
muskets, bHt most of them carried
knives and a sort of hand granade.
These bombs are filed with villain
GUS compound which is let loose Is
they are broken, and the fumes are
more to be dreaded than bullet.
Their plan, as we solved it, was for an
attack on both sides of us at once. A
fleet would come out on us from the
shore and the junk would drift down
upon us at the same time. We had the
cable ready to slip, sent the engineertO
his post and then waited.
At about half-past Hne, while the tide
had yet half an hour 10 run, we saw the
shore boats make ready. At least 200
natives were ready to come off. They
knew that the cook had drugged or
poisoned our coffee. and therefore sent
a boat in advance of the fleet to see in
what shape we were. The boat came
up very softly and rowed twice around
us before the captain hailed and let
them know we were wide awake. Some
sort of signal was given from the boat,
and the fight opened at once. Just the
moment we saw the people on the junk
getting ready to drift her down upon
us we gave them the grape from the
six-pounder. They were not pistol-shot
away, with most of the men crowded
aft, and verify believe that the one
discharge killed or wounded twenty
men. was at that gun with two 9TH
ers, and man armed with a carbine
was near us. He fired six or seven
shots while we were reloading, and
three or four musket-shots were fired
at US. Our second shot drove all who
were left alive below matches, and, be-
lieving that the carbineer could keep
them there, we ran the gun to the star
board side to beat off the boats.
1t was high time. While the first dis
charge of the gun had done for a score
of them, they were a reckless and des-
perate lot and would not retreat. They
were provided with bombs, spears,
blow guns and muskets, and the man
who was to sprinkle them with hot
water had been shot dead at their first
fire. As soon as we got our gun over,
some one picked up the nozzle of the
hose pipe and turned it loose on every
boat within reach. But for the hot
water the fellows might have carried
us by boarding, for 200 to 10 is big odds.
Such screaming and shouting and
as they indulged in when the
boiling hot water spattered over their
half-naked bodies was pandenlonium
of itself. and all the time we kept play |
ing on them with guns and the care
bi.ies. The fight could not have lasted
over seven or eight minutes, and as
soon as they began to draw off ran
my gun to the port side, loaded with
shell, and sent the missile right
the junk's stern. Half a dozen
fellows rushed out of the hold and
jumped overheard. and l gave her two
more. When the third was fired there
was an explosion, probably of a barrel
of powder. which lifted her decks thirty
feet high and split her wide open. She
sank right there before our eyes. and
the walls of the wounded wrctches who
hoated about for minute or two were
dreadful to hear.
Captain Tabor felt that such treach-
cry as the natives had shown deserved
the severest punishment and we